What the Contigo Bottle Recall Reveals About Common Product Dangers

Recently, the Contigo water bottle company needed to recall some of their most popular bottles. The company called them “Kids Cleanable Water Bottles,” and several stores sold them, such as Target, Wal-Mart, and Costco. The issue was that the bottles came with a clear silicone spout that can detach and choke a child.

It’s scary to think about your kids choking on a water bottle attachment or anything else. However, this recall goes to show how everyday household items can harm either children or adults. It does occur more often than you may think, but is there anything you can do to keep yourself and your kids safe?

Let’s investigate that subject for a few moments.

The Contigo Case

To get back to the Contigo water bottle example, when the company decided to go ahead with the recall, there were about 5.7 million bottles on the market. There were 427 silicone spout detachment cases.

That means it’s not as though these water bottles were instantly deadly. With 5.7 million bottles out there and only 427 detachment incidents, that doesn’t seem so bad when you think about it. However, those stats mean nothing if you were one of the parents of an unfortunate child who choked on the troublesome water bottle component.

How Thoroughly Do Companies Test Products?

Products that present choking hazards are serious public health issues, but you might wonder why the company didn’t figure out this problem during the research and development phase. Every product goes through R and D, and testing them is a part of that, or at least it should be.

The issue is that not every product goes through the same rigorous testing process. There are regulatory agencies, but sometimes, they can allow a potentially dangerous item to slip through the cracks.

There are several different reasons why a company might bring a product to market before testing it as well as they should. For instance, maybe the higher-ups are trying to hurry the process along because a competing company came out with something similar, and at the moment, they’re dominating the market. That company might rush the product into stores as quickly as possible because they’re falling behind, and they feel like they must see a profit immediately.

What Can You Do as a Consumer?

As a consumer, you really have no way to know how well a company tested their product before they allowed it to reach store shelves. You also probably don’t know what regulatory agencies looked it over before letting it by.

One thing you can do, though, is to check the FDA recall list before you consume any product. There are some additional websites that can tell you about product recalls as well.

You probably don’t have to double-check the recall list for every single product you buy. Think how long it might take if you tried to do that with every item in your cart in the grocery store.

Still, you can and should check the recall status with things like child toys or baby food. You owe it to your kids to look into what you’re giving them because they cannot do it themselves. Also, remember that at a certain age, kids can choke very easily, so any food product or toy that has small or detachable parts, keep it away from them.

Scrutinize Anything You Give Your Kids

Even if you don’t see a product on any recall lists, if you’re going to give it to your child, look it over first. Test it to see whether it will break easily or whether any of the components can detach. You can also speak to the family doctor about what toy and food brands are best for kids.

The reality remains that even if a company tests a product very carefully, and regulatory agencies do as well, you sometimes have one slip through that seemed okay during the development phase, but it reacts differently once the public purchases it. That’s how some tragic situations occur, especially those involving children.

You can’t keep yourself and your kids free from these dangers all the time since you have to purchase and consume products. It’s not as though you can make everything you need on your own.

Your best bet is to rely on the safest companies and products you can find. Do your due diligence by looking them over and checking recall lists before you put them in your child’s hands.